THE PROMISED LAND.
Day 12 – We were going to name today’s post, “Home on the Range”, but two things happened to change this: we haven’t yet seen any buffalo (although we have seen antelope playing), and the scenery changed from range-like to shock & awe-like. We spent most of today driving with our mouths open; the scenery was magnificent.
297 miles
Red Desert Rose Campground, 3101 Wagon Circle Rd, Post Office Box 1282, Rawlins, WY 82301, (307) 328-1091, www.reddesertrose.com. Right off I-80W in the city of Rawlins, WY, a convenient stopover for 1 night. They have 113 hook-up sites plus some tent sites. Full Hook-up with Cable TV, Electric/Water, and Full Hook-up without Cable TV, all different rates. We paid slightly less than $30 for electric/water hook-ups, and that rate was with the Good Sam discount. Traffic noise from I-80 is loud; even with the windows closed, we wore ear plugs to bed. Sites are close together, not offering privacy. There’s a good little store where you check in at the office. Customer service is good. No trees, more of a desert campground in the high plains. But just fine for one night. We had site #072.
We got up at 5 a.m. & rushed thru the process of packing up. It was 40 degrees, dark out. We departed at 6:30, still 40 degrees, clear, the first colors of sunrise were appearing.
An early start from Rawlins, WY
The kitties could not figure out why we were waking them up to feed them; usually they’re waking us up so that they can get fed. The confused looks said it all. They didn’t eat much. We promised to get their little lives back to a routine soon. We hopped on I-80W and travelled thru the rest of Wyoming and into Utah, getting onto WI-84/I-15N at exit 168 in UT, and heading north towards the Great Salt Lake, rather than travelling south on I-80 to Salt Lake City. We crossed the Continental Divide at 6:40 a.m. at 7,000 feet; it was still 40 degrees but there were very dark clouds on the horizon in the west. It occurred to us that today was the Autumn Equinox, the first day of fall. Heavy rain started at 7:30 a.m. with the temperature dropping to 35 degrees. The first day of fall? We encountered a little wet snow. Hmmmm……..
Okay, here’s where I turn over the blog to the pictures. Suffice it to say, we were blown away. We had no idea what was coming. And we’re not at Glacier National Park or Yellowstone. These are the pictures from our travels today from west of Buford, WY to beyond Ogden, UT.
This was an amazing day; we had no idea what was in front of us when we got up this morning. We’d travelled through southern UT before & it was amazing, but we were blown away by the scenery in northern Utah. OMG. Enjoy the pictures.
Along I-80 in WY
To see a whole lot more pictures of the scenery along I-80 in Western WY,
Click Here
Along I-80 in UT
To see a whole lot more pictures of the scenery along I-80 and I-84 in Eastern UT,
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We arrived at our campground, Willard Bay State Park on the Great Salt Lake in UT, near Brigham City, at noon. It was 43 degrees with light rain. We had reservations for 2 nights because there’s a world-renowned National Wildlife Refuge near here, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. We had site #043 in the Cottonwood Campground, full hook-ups, & they let us check in long before the 3 p.m. check-in time.
We set up & immediately left for the Wildlife Refuge to scope it out for tomorrow. We will probably spend most of tomorrow there. Our site is full hook-ups and nestled between trees, private. On either side of the campground are tall mountalns. Only problem is our proximity to I-84, but hey, what’s a little noise after Red Desert Rose Campground in WY.
What a great day, totally unexpected scenery! Probably the most scenic day ever – with more to come.
So why, “The Promised Land,” for a title for today’s post? Read Jon Krakauer’s excellent book, “Under the Banner of Heaven”, re the history of Mormonism. Could you imagine coming here in covered wagons, persecuted by people led by standard Christianity, looking for a place to build your community safely, and then coming across this land, this scenery? Not to say we believe in the Mormon religion, but just imagine…….